Morning Glory Entwined
- Thuy is dead, Mrs. Tu!
Teo's loud scream startled Mrs. Tu as if struck by lightning. She shook Mr. Tu and asked in a startled voice:
- Who are you talking about, Teo?
- Thuy is Mr. Tam's daughter, who else, Mrs. Tu?
Teo's words shocked Mrs. Tu.
- How did Thuy die? I saw her just yesterday!
Teo had been standing in the house for a while.
- People said she committed suicide by taking poison. They just found her and took her to the infirmary, but they brought her back, Mrs. Tu.
Mr. Tu grabbed his stick and hurried out, not having time to fix his buttoned shirt (buttoned in the wrong place).
- How pitiful for the little girl! I told him already, but Mr. Tam wouldn't listen. There's nothing wrong with them loving each other, but he keeps making things difficult for her. Things have turned out like this, it's too late to regret it, ma'am...
Mrs. Tu quickly spat out the betel nut in her mouth and said to him:
- You go over there and see what's going on. I'll call the girls to come back and look at the house and then come along. How pitiful for the little girl...
***
Mrs. Tu said that but her heart was trembling. Her intuition told her that something bad would happen to Thuy. Poor little girl and Quy loved each other. It was because of the matter of social status that the two families started arguing from their closeness. They got along well with each other but when it came to the marriage of the young couple, they disagreed. This is how difficult life is, closeness is like that, but in-laws are sometimes not worthy of respect...
Mr. Tam on the other side of the road had a fourth daughter named Thuy, who was well-behaved and well-behaved and everyone in the neighborhood knew her. On the other side of the road, there was Mr. Nam who often went back and forth, so over time they became close friends. The two old friends often met, sometimes drinking tea, sometimes drinking wine, over time it seemed like they were blood relatives.
Mr. Nam had an older son who was good at farming, often going out into the fields to catch fish to make the meals less bland. Sometimes when he got a big fish, he would bring it to Mr. Tam's house as a gift, with the meaning of respecting the friendship of the elders...
After a long time together, he noticed Tu Thuy's charm and fell in love without realizing it. The two often met in the fields to catch shrimp or pull nets together. The girls grew up together and after a long time together, it was hard to separate, their feelings grew closer and closer like an engaged couple. The villagers looked at them with admiration and compliments, thinking that if not today, then tomorrow there would be a wedding to wash their hearts.
Unexpectedly, when he learned that the young couple fell in love, Mr. Nam confidently said that there would be no problems. But Mr. Tam thought differently, why would his daughter marry a country person? If he were to marry, he would have to find a good match, or a Vietnamese overseas would be worthy of the beloved girl who was both beautiful and virtuous...
At first, Mr. Nam went to beg the girl's family for a long time but they refused to accept the marriage. After learning about the matter, Mr. Tu and his wife tried to speak up but to no avail. The matter dragged on for several years without any end in sight, causing Tu Thuy and Quy to worry themselves to the point of exhaustion...
Mr. Tam said he was tough, but after waiting for a long time, there was no better match, and his daughter was growing up, so he gave in. The whole village was happy to hear the news because everything went smoothly in the end...
But... who would have thought that at the last minute, Mr. Nam would become self-conscious. "If my son doesn't have this match, then find another one. Who would have the time to flatter poor people and act all high and mighty..."
At this point, Mr. Tu and his wife could only cry to heaven! It was only pitiful for Tu Thuy, who kept crying until her eyes were swollen, not knowing who to lean on...
Tu Thuy's death made the two families hate each other even more. Mr. Tam thought that his daughter's death was caused by the groom's family. If Mr. Nam hadn't been acting up, wouldn't things have turned out like this?
Mr. Nam, however, thought that the girl's family had suffered retribution for being too stubborn and demanding too much for their daughter. If they had agreed from the beginning, how could this have happened!...
The second day of Tu Thuy's funeral, the whole village was once again in shock. Mr. Nam's son, Mr. Quy, could not bear the great excitement and also took medicine to commit suicide... At this time, Mr. Nam regretted it but it was too late...
On the day of his daughter's funeral, Mr. Tam's big boat passed by Mr. Nam's house with the sad sound of the storks. Mr. Tam, with tears in his eyes, looked at Mr. Quy's funeral and gritted his teeth: "That's the only way to please your father who only knows the beginning but not the end, Quy!"
After the tragic event, the bridge over the creek connecting the two banks was dismantled. Since then, no one from the two families has crossed over, even though they are on each other's land. It is a pity that even people in the village who want to visit are inconvenient, because there is no longer a means like before. Many people wanted to rebuild the bridge but were afraid of... adding fuel to the fire... so they ignored it...
Then there were many whispers in the village about the sound of crying echoing in the dark. Who knew where that cry came from every night?
Children like Teo would often disappear at night when they heard it. They were afraid because they heard adults talking to each other: "That is the ghost of Tu Thuy and Quy who died unjustly, so they cried and lamented about their ill-fated love..."
The crying on the riverbank made it difficult for Mr. Tu and Mrs. Tu to sleep. Their house was near Mr. Tam, so the crying every night was very clear. Many days, the old couple were annoyed and went to Mr. Tam to ask for the reason. After all, the two children were dead, so what's the use of crying forever...
But strangely, Mr. Tam was equally surprised. Maybe the crying was coming from the other side of the river, where... Mr. Nam's house was...
Mr. Tu and his wife rowed to Mr. Nam's house. But Mr. Nam also denied it, saying that the crying sound came from Mr. Tam's house...
Mr. Tu and Mrs. Tu looked at each other.
"So it's obvious that these are the cries of two children!"
Mrs. Tu trembled when she heard her husband say that. She loved Tu Thuy very much, but... she was still afraid of ghosts...
At first, many people suggested burying Tu Thuy and Mr. Quy's graves next to each other. But both families objected... So in the end, the two unfortunate people had to accept the situation: "he on the left bank, she on the right bank". The two graves were located next to the foot of the field, about a hundred meters away from the family, although they were not on the same side, they were facing each other...
Since the day he determined that the cries were those of the unjustly killed couple, Mr. Tu kept going back and forth, seemingly thinking. He knew they loved each other very much, but... who could stand crying like this...!
Once, Mr. Tu went all the way to get a shaman to perform a ritual to save the souls of the two souls so that the villagers would not have to hear their cries anymore. But when it came time to cast a spell to ward off evil spirits, only one family agreed. The remaining family was determined not to follow, with the reason: "If they are not relatives, how can they be of the same species?" ...
That night, people heard crying again from one side. The sobbing, mournful and miserable, made their hearts ache...
Mr. Tu tried to persuade the remaining family again. But when the matter was settled, the other family changed its mind and did not follow...
Then the crying rang out again that night. It was sad, tormenting, on the opposite side, making everyone feel sorry...
Too discouraged, Mr. Tu let the matter go with the flow...
But the matter could be abandoned, but the crying could not... It haunted the sleep of the old couple with sympathy for the two children.
One sleepless night, Mr. Tu said to his wife:
- Maybe the two of them could not get along with each other, so they kept crying...
Mrs. Tu turned over and sighed:
- You make it sound like the love story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is not as good. Since they are ghosts, how can they not come together? When we were prevented from being together when we were alive, should we not dare to come together when we are dead?
- How can you say that! Our grandparents have never done anything according to the rules and regulations. According to what you said, the children did not die, they just took each other away and disappeared...
The story of the back and forth between Mr. and Mrs. Tu reached the ears of the villagers. Many people gave their opinions, but... despite much discussion, there was still no solution...
One day, the people on both sides of the child were surprised when they no longer heard the crying. It was strange and miraculous for sleep, everyone comfortably fell asleep without any nightmares...
In the morning, the first thing Mr. Tu did was to use his cane to go see the grave next to the field. Who knew who was the one who made the crying stop?
When he reached the two graves, the old man was surprised to see a bridge made of coconut palms (coconut leaf stalks) spanning the two banks of the creek. It was temporarily placed on bamboo poles crossed with sparrow wings as a span, and a few coconut strings were strung across like arms so that people could lean on them. But the bridge was still there, although it was a bit rough...
When he got home to see his wife, Mr. Tu happily said:
- I told you so! I don't know who built a bridge made of coconut palms across the two graves. That's why their crying stopped.
Mrs. Tu seemed to not believe it:
- Are you telling the truth?
- Why would I lie to you? From now on, the children will truly be at peace with each other. They must have a home when they live, and a road when they die. Because I've been stupid for a long time, I couldn't think of it...
Mr. Tu and his wife were happy, but Teo seemed happier than anyone else. He happily whispered to his friends, making Mr. Tu curious.
- What's the matter that you're so happy about, Teo? Tell me.
The little boy hadn't said anything yet, but Mr. Tu had already thought of it.
- So it was you who built the bridge, right? You kid are also good, you thought of it earlier than everyone else.
Teo grinned:
- How good, Mr. Tu! You reminded me of the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
Mr. Tu felt satisfied with himself. "So it turns out that old people like me don't have to be abandoned. I can't do it, but suggesting that the young people do it is good, isn't it?"
The story of Teo building a bridge for two unfortunate souls to come together quickly spread throughout the village. Many people praised the little boy for being smart and clever and coming up with a perfect method. Teo's prestige for a moment was even greater than the talent of the teacher that Mr. Tu went to bring back at that time...
Time passed quickly. The two graves were covered with grass over time. Occasionally, Mr. Tam and Mr. Nam also visited their child's grave. But usually, when one came out, the other would immediately retreat into the house. They avoided each other like enemies who had killed their own children...
The hatred between the two families made everyone in the neighborhood feel uneasy. After all, everything had already happened, no one wanted it to happen like that! The two families had been close before, it was just that they were unwilling to sympathize that caused the situation... If only... If only... And the word "if only" kept appearing on everyone's lips since that tragic day... If only they didn't say "if only", then that was fine, but once they said it, many people shed tears. Many people often talk about "The Golden Lesson", with the saying: When you want to do something, you must think about its consequences... But how many people learn the word "if only"! If we don't learn the lesson today, there will be another chance. As for the "if only" when speaking, everything has already happened... Just like, no one can bring back the two unfortunate people to life!... The grudge between the two families is not resolved, who knows, it will cause other things. Then who knows, we will regret the word "if only"!...
Entering August, the rain never stopped! The small creek with two graves was red with high tide water. The wind, rain and high tide caused Teo's bridge to be washed away, making Mr. Tu worried. The worries of old people are sometimes very groundless. Feelings create worries, like the story of his own family... The old couple discussed how to repair the bridge for their two grandchildren who were very loved. And they thought, "if only"... everyone loved them like they did...
When the two of them went to the grave, they found out that someone had done it for them. Not knowing when, on the other side, there were several bamboo bridges built, but not yet completed...
Mr. and Mrs. Tu remembered that these past few days, Mr. Nam often cut bamboo, not knowing what to do with it? Maybe the bridge was built by the old man for his son's sake...
The next day, Mr. Tu and his wife were surprised to see Mr. Tam carrying bamboo to the grave. They asked the children to follow and see, only to find out that it was to make a bridge...
The people on this side made the spans. The people on the other side released the beams. No one said anything to anyone, but they felt very relaxed because of the rare public service...
When Mr. Tu realized, he sighed and exclaimed... "If only"...!?
The bridge was built by the two enemies not long ago, and from the grave grew some very lush morning glory vines. From here and there, they crawled out very quickly and clung to the bridge to find each other. The morning glory vines were as big as fingers, entwined together like strong ropes, impossible to tear apart. The morning glory leaves were big and round, intertwined with each other, swaying in the wind, regardless of stormy days...
The children in the village, including Teo, often played in the afternoons by the bridge over the deserted canal. They played carefreely, without distinction between high and low, having fun with the morning glory vines and treating it like a slide. One child here, one child there, let themselves fall on the morning glory stems and slid down into the splashing water. Their clear laughter rang out, innocent and simple. None of them cared whether the one on this side was a child or the other... After all, they were born from lucky couples in love...
Some afternoons, Mr. Tu and Mrs. Tu looked at the children and smiled. In the afternoon breeze, a random comment echoed:
- If only they had gotten married, now they would have had children for me to hold...
Mrs. Tu turned away, quickly wiping away the tears from the corners of her old eyes...
The knot had been untied. The bridge now connected the two banks of the creek, defying time, because there were some morning glory vines holding it tight. If tomorrow the bamboo trunk rotted, the morning glory vines themselves would have become a bridge to replace it. However, there was still one thing that both families regretted... There was one thing that they could never reconnect...
